BREVARD, N.C. - Frankie Vasquez roped a walk-off RBI single to left field as the Brevard College baseball team (17-8, 7-1 USA South) split a USA South Conference doubleheader at Gil Coan Field with NC Wesleyan University (18-6, 7-1 USAS) on a very windy Saturday afternoon.
Brevard pulled out a 12-11 victory in game number two to secure a doubleheader sweep with the Battling Bishops, as the two sides remain tied for first place in the USA South baseball standings through eight games on the conference slate.
NC Wesleyan used offense in every single inning of play to pull away with a run-rule 14-1 victory in seven innings in game one, as the series will move to a rubber match game three tomorrow afternoon.
GAME TWO - BREVARD 12, NC WESLEYAN 11
The eventual walk-off hero and reigning USA South Conference Player of the Week Vasquez enjoyed a perfect 3-for-3 outing at the plate with two runs scored and a game-high five RBIs. Junior outfielder Logan Clark also had a three-hit performance going 3-for-5 with four runs scored. Luke Morton and Cale Oehler each had two hits apiece, while Lucas Granata totaled four RBIs. Blake Burchett got aboard three times via walk and scored twice while adding to his nation-leading stolen base count with a pair of swiped bags.
Connor Crosby, the reigning USA South Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Week, hurled six innings on the mound for the Tornados giving up 11 hits and six earned runs while striking out six batters. Bryce Bowers (3-1) earned the win after three innings of six-hit, four earned run relief, and a pair of strikeouts.
NCW's Zach Lyon enjoyed a terrific outing at the plate for the Battling Bishops, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs on a two-run home run and an RBI double. Five other NC Wesleyan batters logged multi-hit games as the visitors totaled 17 hits in the contest.
The visitors opened up a 2-0 lead in the top of the first after an infield RBI single and an RBI single pulled through the right side of the infield.
The Tornados answered with a Vasquez RBI single in the first and a flurry of runs in the bottom of the second after a Morton RBI single and a dropped fly ball followed by two bases-loaded walks allowed Brevard to take a 5-2 advantage.
Lyon launched a two-out, two-run homer that skied down the left-field line to make it a one-score affair, 5-4.
Brevard used a two-RBI double from Vasquez and a Granata RBI groundout to add some cushion to its margin, 8-4 in the bottom of the fourth.
NC Wesleyan trimmed the deficit in half, 8-6, after scoring runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings to chase Crosby, but Brevard built the lead back up to four runs after a Granata RBI single and a Parker Crews sacrifice fly made it 10-6 through six frames.
NC Wesleyan flipped the script on the Tornado bullpen, scoring one in the seventh before hanging a four-spot in the top of the eighth to retake the lead, 11-10.
Brevard put together a patient two-out rally in the bottom of the inning, drawing two walks and consecutive hit-by-pitches to tie things back up, 11-11 with one inning left to play.
Bowers came through big for the Tornados, shutting down the Battling Bishops 1-2-3 in the top half of the ninth inning. Clark led off with a double that dropped into right field before Oehler launched a fly ball to the center field warning track that pushed Clark to third. On the very first pitch of the next at-bat, Vasquez roped the game-winning RBI single into left field as the Tornados escaped with a thrilling 12-11 triumph to split the series up, 1-1.
GAME ONE - NC WESLEYAN 14, BREVARD 1
The visitors dominated game one from the jump, scoring 14 runs on 16 hits while taking advantage of two Tornado errors. BC's offense was stifled, as the guests allowed just one run on four hits to Brevard.
Six Battling Bishops reached multi-hit status in game one, as NCW was led by Alex Moskal who went 4-for-4 at the dish with a run scored and three RBIs.
Crews, Granata, Morton, and Parker Crews all singled for the guests, while Trenten Anderson (3-3) gave up 11 hits and seven earned runs.
NCW scored 11 unanswered runs to start off game one before Granata came around in the bottom of the fifth on a wild pitch. The Battling Bishops used a two-run bomb in the top of the sixth and a solo shot in the top of the seventh to invoke the run rule as NC Wesleyan took care of business, 14-1 in seven innings.
The rubber match of this USA South Conference showdown is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Gil Coan Field.
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